Sauce Leveler Device

ABSTRACT

A leveler device that engages a bulk product container or bucket that allows a user to level off a scooping or measuring device to obtain a predetermined amount of product. The leveler device includes a blade or wall disposed over a container opening of the container. In use, a user levels the amount of sauce within the measuring device by successively running the rim of the measuring device across the blade or wall of the leveler device to remove excess sauce. The excess sauce that is scraped or pushed off of the measuring device rim by the leveler blade may return back into the container. Thus, the user can consistently scrape and pour the desired amount of product.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a product leveler and particularly to a pizza sauce leveler.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the sauce leveler embodiment illustrating a user dispensing the contents of the previously measured amount contained within the measuring device onto pizza dough;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the sauce leveler device and container embodiment of FIG. 1 with portions of the leveler device and container broken away;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the connection between the sauce leveler device and the container of FIG. 2 taken along line 3-3 illustrating the attachment mechanism of the sauce leveler device in the engaged position with the container with portions of the leveler device and container broken away;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the sauce leveler device and measuring device of FIG. 1 taken along line 4-4 with portions of the container and measuring device broken away, illustrating the product or sauce being pushed or scraped from the measuring device rim in order to obtain the predetermined amount required for application;

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the sauce leveler device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the sauce leveler device of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the sauce leveler device of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the sauce leveler device of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the sauce leveler device of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, representative embodiments disclosing specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed invention. However, it will be apparent to one having ordinary skill in the art having had the benefit of the present disclosure that other embodiments according to the present teachings that depart from the specific details disclosed herein remain within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, descriptions of well known apparatuses and methods may be omitted so as to not obscure the description of the representative embodiments. Such methods and apparatuses are clearly within the scope of the claimed invention.

Furthermore, and as described in subsequent paragraphs, the specific mechanical configurations illustrated in the drawings are intended to exemplify embodiments of the invention and that other alternative mechanical configurations are possible.

The sauce leveler device 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention depicted in the FIGS. 1-9 has a planar wall, flange, or scraping blade 23 structured to provide at least one substantially planar surface 23 c, 23 d to level off a scooping or measuring device 1 to obtain a predetermined amount of a product or ingredient. Leveler device 20 allows a user 10 or multiple users of various skill levels to consistently duplicate the predetermined amount for a particular application. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, user 10 is able to level off to the precise measurement of the desired amount of product 12 such as for example sauce for a particular size of pizza dough 13 with a measuring device 1 having been used in combination with leveler device 20. Thus, repeating desired amounts of a particular product or ingredient for a food application permits consistency in a product's taste, appearance, and quality and furthers repeatability within a single store and among a franchise that includes multiple stores.

As shown in FIG. 1, Leveler device 20 includes a center arm 22 between two arms 26 engaging a container 50. Container 50 may hold a variety of bulk products including but is not limited to food ingredients that may have a variety of characteristics including but not limited to solids and semisolids. Container 50 includes a bottom wall 52 and a sidewall 54. Sidewall 54 defines a container opening 56 surrounded by a container rim 58 permitting access to the contents of the container. Although container 50 may generally have a bucket shape, it is not limited to such and may be of a variety of shapes that best contain the product or have the greatest aesthetic appeal. Container 50 may be of unitary construction and made of any of numerous materials commonly known in the art depending on specific product and environmental conditions. Some common examples of materials include but are not limited to polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate. The container described above is merely representative of containers in general, and it is to be understood that there are a variety of containers of different shape, size, and rim finish that may be used with the leveler device embodiments herein.

As shown in FIGS. 1-9, leveler device 20 is an elongated bar or member that includes a center arm 22 with opposing arms 26 that may be inclined. With an attachment mechanism 30 of inclined arms 26 at a lower first elevation adjacent container rim 58, center arm 22 with planar wall 23 is at a higher second elevation in a vertical direction away from container opening 56. This vertical distance or clearance between container rim 58 or first elevation and planar wall 23 at the second elevation allows measuring device 1 to be inserted into the product 12 of container 50 as well as being brought into contact with the planar wall 23 as it is removed from container 50, to level off the product in the measuring device. Inclined arms 26 extend radially outward away from center arm 22 and depend at an angle a, wherein angle a may be about, but is not limited to, 45 degrees. Planar wall 23 of center arm 22 includes a lower scraping edge 23 b and an upper edge 23 a with a forward planar surface 23 c and a rearward planar surface 23 d therebetween. As shown in FIG. 4, the scraping angle 0 between either the forward or rearward planar surface 23 c, 23 d and container rim 58 is preferably about 90 degrees, although it is understood that the scraping angle may be less than or greater than 90 degrees for either planar surfaces and still adequately level the product 12 in the measuring device 1. Upper edge 23 a (FIG. 5) may be outwardly curved from the rearward planar surface 23 d and/or forward planar surface 23 c and/or wider than lower scraping edge 23 b. As shown in FIG. 4, upper edge 23 a may have a width W1 and lower scraping edge 23 b may have a smaller width W2. The opposing ends 24 and 25 of planar wall 23 extend longitudinally and may connect with the opposing inclined arms 26 as shown in FIG. 8.

Leveler device 20 may be constructed of one or more materials by a variety of processes, such as injection molding. Leveler device 20 may be of unitary construction and may be made of any of numerous materials commonly known in the art depending on specific product and environmental conditions. Some common examples of materials include but are not limited to polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate.

Although leveler device 20 is shown in detail in FIGS. 1-9, it should be understood to those skilled in the art that the leveler, planar wall, and arms may be a variety of quantities, shape, construction, sizes, positions relative to the container, and still adequately provide the desired leveling of the product for a variety of measuring devices. For instance, although it is shown that forward and rearward planar surfaces 23 c, 23 d of wall 23 are planar and parallel to each other, the planar surfaces may relate differently to each other such as being tapered, nonplanar such as arcuate, or otherwise dissimilar to each other. Further, planar wall 23 or more specifically one or more planar surfaces of the planar wall may be angled relative to the container rim 58 instead of being perpendicular to the container rim as is shown in FIG. 4, therefore scraping angle Θ may be varied from the approximately right angle shown in FIG. 4. Also, the first end 25 of planar wall 23 may be vertically offset from the other opposing end 24 of the planar wall 23 relative to container rim 58 whereby the center arm 22 will not be parallel with container rim 58. Further, planar wall 23 may extend along only a portion of the center arm 22 and may or may not connect with one or both of the inclined arms 26.

As shown in FIGS. 1-9, the distal ends 26 a of one or both of inclined arms 26 may include an attachment mechanism or mounting bracket 30 for securing the leveler device 20 to container 50. Although it is contemplated that attachment mechanism 30 may affix the leveler device permanently to container 50 or the leveler device may be integrally molded with the container to form a unitary structure, leveler device 20 is shown as being releasably secured to container 50. Therefore, leveler device 20 may be separated from container 50 to allow either the container or leveler to be cleaned, repaired, replaced, or to allow the container to be more readily emptied or refilled with product. A tool-free attachment mechanism or pair of mounting brackets as shown, allows the user to readily engage and disengage leveler device 20 from container 50 as desired by the user. One embodiment of attachment mechanism 30 includes an upper deck 32 with one or more depending walls. As shown in FIGS. 1-9, attachment mechanism 30 has an exterior depending wall or outer wall 34 and an interior depending wall or inner wall 36. Outer wall 34 may engage, depending on the shape of container 50, one or more exterior surfaces 45 b of container sidewall 54, and inner wall 36 may engage one or more interior surfaces 54 a of container sidewall 54. Outer wall 34 and inner wall 36 define a groove 38 for receiving container rim 58. Groove 38 may be arcuate in shape when used with a container having an arcuate rim, however outer wall 34 and/or inner wall 36 may or may not be arcuate. Therefore, it should be understood that the groove 38 may be provided in a variety of shapes, construction, and sizes to match the rim 58 to which it is applied. As shown in FIG. 7, the interior surface of outer wall 34 may be curved with a first radius measured from the central axis of the container opening 56. Although not shown, the inner wall may also have a curved exterior surface having a second radius similarly measured, whereby the second radius is smaller than first radius. The inner and outer walls 34 and 36 may each have one or more depending protrusions or ribs, for instance inner wall 36 as shown in FIG. 7 may have three protrusions 36 a, b, and c engaging interior surface 54 a of container sidewall 54. Opposing protrusions 36 a and 36 c are positioned on the outer periphery of upper deck 32 with protrusion 36 b therebetween. Protrusion 36 b may connect to planar wall 23 along inclined arm 26.

Although the latching mechanism 40 of the attachment mechanism 30 may be disengaged by a tool, a latch 41 which may be manually operated without a tool is shown in FIGS. 1-3 and 5-9. Latch 41 extends from a depressible member or push button 42 pivotable about a hinged connection or hinge 46. Hinge 46 may be a living type hinge, pin and slot mechanism, bimodal wherein the hinge snaps the latch either in a fully engaged or fully disengaged position with the container rim, one integral structure as shown or include two or more connected structures, or may be a variety of hinges known to one skilled in the art and still provide pivoting and/or flexing of latch 41 in order to engage and disengage from the container. In one embodiment, latch 41 extends from outer wall 34 of attachment mechanism 30 through slot 34 a. Slot 34 a may extend through portions of outer wall 34 and/or portions of upper deck 32. Latch 41 allows the leveler device 20 to engage and disengage from a latch catch or retainer 59 of container rim 58. Latch 41 includes a cam surface or ramp 44, although it should be understood that the cam surface may be included with the container rim. Cam surface 44 of the latch mechanism 40 allows latch 41 to be displaced radially outward from groove 38 about hinge 46 while container rim 58 is being inserted into groove 38. Once cam surface 44 of latch 41 continues flexing or pivoting latch 41 past the container rim, latch 41 returns inwardly into to the groove to engage latch catch 59 of container rim 58 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. By depressing push button 42 when the latch 41 is already engaged with the container rim 58, the user displaces latch 41 radially outward away from container latch catch 59 to disengage the latch from its engaged position with the container (FIGS. 2 and 3) to remove the leveler device. It should also be understood that the leveler device 20 may be rotationally and/or axially fixed relative to the container rim by the attachment mechanisms and/or container structure.

Although attachment mechanism 30 is shown in detail in the figures, a variety of attachment or mounting mechanisms may be used to assemble the leveler device to the container, causing it to be either permanently or releasably secured. Although not shown, the leveler device or more specifically the attachment mechanism, inclined arms, or center arm may allow for pivoting, possibly about the longitudinal axis of the elongated leveler device, from a first position to a second position that may adjust the scraping angle 0 of the leveler device as desired by the user. Further, the leveler device or a single inclined arm 26 may have an attachment mechanism 30 while the other arm merely engages and receives the container rim.

The measuring device, ladle, or spoon 1 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. Measuring device 1 includes a handle 2 connected to a bowl 3 having an opening surrounded by a rim 4. The amount of product is dependent on the volume contained within the measuring device 1 upon leveling or scraping off the excess amount of product when using the leveler. A variety of measuring devices may be used that receive a predetermined amount of product depending on the desired application of the product. For example, when preparing a variety of pizzas of a different size, a user may use one measuring device to measure out more sauce for a large pizza and another smaller measuring device to measure out a smaller amount of sauce for a small pizza.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, in use the user chooses the appropriately sized measuring device 1 and scoops up a measure of product or sauce 12 with excess product 12 a extending above measuring device rim 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the user 10 then levels off the amount of product 12 within the measuring device 1 by scraping the measuring device rim 4 against lower scraping edge 23 b of the leveler planar wall 23 in the “A” direction to remove the excess product 12 a. Measuring device 1 can be used against lower scraping edge 23 b in either direction “A” or the opposing direction, wherein the excess product 12 a may contact either the forward planar surface 23 c or the rearward planar surface 23 d depending on which side the user 10 is positioned relative to the leveler device. The excess product 12 a that is scraped or pushed off of the measuring device rim by the scraping blade returns or falls back into container 50, thereby allowing the user to scrape and pour the predetermined amount in each subsequent application.

While several inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of the other means which are structured for performing the functions and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials and configurations described are meant to be exemplary only and that the actual parameters, dimensions and materials and/or configurations will depend on the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation to achieve many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is therefore to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only in that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise then as specifically described and claimed.

Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to reach individual feature, systems, articles, materials, kits and/or methods described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, are included within the inventive skills evidenced in the present disclosure.

All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”

The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc. As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

It should also be understood that, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, in any methods claimed herein that include more than one step or act, the order of the steps or acts of the method is not necessarily limited to the order in which the steps or acts of the method are recited. Also, any reference numerals or other characters, appearing between parentheses in the claims, are provided merely for convenience and are not intended to limit the claims in any way.

In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03.

It is understood that while certain embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof. 

I claim:
 1. A product leveler and bulk product container assembly comprising: a bulk product container having a container rim surrounding a container opening; a leveler including a elongated bar, said elongated bar including a center arm connecting two depending arms, said center arm includes a planar wall depending therefrom, said center arm is disposed at a predetermined vertical distance above said container rim and over said container opening by said two depending arms, a distal end of each one of said depending arms has an attachment mechanism releasably securing said leveler to said container rim.
 2. The product leveler and bulk product container assembly as in claim 1 wherein said planar wall includes laterally opposing ends, said laterally opposing ends of said planar wall engage each of said depending arms, respectively.
 3. The product leveler and bulk product container assembly as in claim 1 wherein said planar wall includes a forward and rear planar surface, at least one of said forward and rear planar surfaces outwardly curve into said center arm at an upper edge of said planar wall.
 4. The product leveler and bulk product container assembly as in claim 1 wherein said attachment mechanism includes a groove, said groove receives said container rim.
 5. The product leveler and bulk product container assembly as in claim 1 wherein said attachment mechanism includes a latch with a bias cam surface.
 6. The product leveler and bulk product container assembly as in claim 5 wherein said latch includes a depressible member.
 7. The product leveler and bulk product container assembly as in claim 1 wherein said attachment mechanism rotationally fixes said leveler to said container rim.
 8. A sauce leveler and container combination for measuring comprising: a container having a container opening surrounded by a rim, said rim having a latch retainer; and a leveler device having a planar flange disposed over said container opening and spaced a distance above said container rim, said planar flange has a lower scraping edge, said planar flange having a pair of depending arms outwardly extending to said container rim, each said arm having an attachment mechanism securing said leveler device to said container, said attachment mechanism having a depressible member with a latch connected to a hinge whereby said latch is positionable between a engaged position with said container latch retainer and a disengaged position with said container latch retainer.
 9. The sauce leveler and container combination as in claim 8 wherein said planar flange has an upper edge outwardly curved therefrom and opposite said lower scraping edge.
 10. The sauce leveler and container combination as in claim 8 wherein said attachment mechanism axially and rotationally restricts said leveler device relative to said container rim.
 11. The sauce leveler and container combination as in claim 8 wherein each said arm has an upper deck connecting opposing interior and exterior depending walls, wherein said interior depending wall engages an interior surface of said container rim and said exterior depending wall engages an exterior surface of said container rim when said leveler latch is in said engaged position with said container latch retainer.
 12. The sauce leveler and container combination as in claim 8 wherein each said arm extends radially outward from said planar flange towards said container rim at an angle.
 13. The sauce leveler and container combination as in claim 8 wherein said latch includes a bias cam.
 14. A sauce leveler for attachment to a container comprising: an elongated sauce leveler extending along a longitudinal axis, said leveler having a pair of mounting brackets at opposing ends of said leveler that are at a first elevation, and a scraping blade positioned at a second elevation between said mounting brackets by a pair of arms, wherein said second elevation is greater than said first elevation, said scraping blade extends a portion of a distance between said pair of mounting brackets; and said scraping blade has a pair of planar surfaces extending between an upper edge and a lower edge, wherein said planar surfaces face in opposing directions perpendicular to said longitudinal axis.
 15. The sauce leveler as in claim 14 wherein said upper edge extends outwardly from said planar surfaces, respectively, in said opposing directions.
 16. The sauce leveler as in claim 14 wherein each said mounting bracket includes a latch connected to a hinge and actuator.
 17. The sauce leveler as in claim 16 wherein each said mounting bracket includes a groove, defined by an inner wall and an outer wall.
 18. The sauce leveler as in claim 17 wherein said inner wall includes one or more protrusions.
 19. The sauce leveler as in claim 17 wherein said latch biases into and out of said groove.
 20. The sauce leveler as in claim 17 wherein said groove is defined by at least one curved surface. 